Hala and the Spell
by Prelude.of.Decay
Summary: Sleeping beauty retelling. Hala is a girl who must go and meet her parents in another kingdom. Though, evil is out to hunt her down. Please read and review.
1. Default Chapter

Author's note: Thanks for clicking into this story. Uhh...this story was posted once before, but I made it much better and decided to post it once again. Anyway, please read, and make sure to reply. Also, check out my other fanfic, The Forgotten Unicorn. It's under the Last Unicorn; it's sorta a sequel type thingy. Please Review. 

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**~Hala and the Spell~**

The sun was beginning to fade beyond the distant hills, casting the night's shadow down upon the elfin villages. Though, the children of the village were not yet asleep, or even tired, because they were with the one whom they trusted the most. They looked up to her and trusted their lives within her soft pale hands. They knew that she was not like any other elf, because she did not resemble an elf. And thus made them love her even more. She was kind and caring, treating them as equals, and listening to each of them intently, letting each of them within her gentle heart. And as the night was befalling the land, they each were gathered around their beloved friend, Hala. They sat around her and gazed into her eyes, their hearts beating eagerly to hear more of the enchanting stories Hala told them. She would tell them stories that would linger in their hearts forever, and this night they were comfortably seated around her, with their young eyes closed and their faces lit up and smiling. 

****

"Legends have said that one day, the EYE of Ghon will save us all from horrendous evil; and we, meaning you and I, will live on a peaceful earth where fighting and poverty will no longer exist," Hala explained to them, her eyes watching each of their reactions.

"Do you mean, our daddies won't have to go away anymore?" a small elf child asked. She was a beautiful girl with large brown eyes and an innocent smile that lit up her soft face. Hala smiled and beckoned the child towards her. The girl smiled and quickly ran over to her favorite elf. Hala held the girl and lifted her into her lap. 

"Yes, child. There will be no war and Ganlin's crown will be given to a man with a righteous heart, not a fool who thinks that if he wears a crown he is considered a king! A king is not made of a crown, but how he leads his people," Hala replied. The children stared in interest eager to hear more. 

"Hala, is there _really_ an EYE of Ghon?" another young elf child questioned.

"Why, of course there is. What have I been telling you for the past hour? Yes...there is an EYE of Ghon. There is a being that carries the eye. Right now...by legend...she is a young girl about your age. Her left eye can see right into your heart and she can see who you really are. She..." 

An older woman cut in. "Halanna, I think you have told the children enough of your nonsense. There may be an EYE of Ghon, but it will never help us and our needs. Run along children...and forget such nonsense your friend here has told you." 

The children began to cry. "But... we want to hear more of Hala's stories! Please Hala! One more..." the children begged.

Hala paused, looking at the old, husky woman . "I don't think so. Maybe tomorrow...if old Alinda isn't here." The old woman gave a huff and began walking towards her wooden home. The children begged for only a while longer, but soon gave up and gradually they all returned to their homes in time for dinner.

Hala gathered together the small gifts from her little friends. The children had always loved to hear every one of her stories and they would come to listen to them every evening before the sun disappeared behind the distant mountains. She loved seeing the children's eyes light up when she told them stories of ogres who would eat elves and use the bones of their horses as toothpicks. A few times the children's parents had gotten angry for they had had nightmares from the stories. None the less, Hala always had new stories to tell. She would make all of her stories up from the top of her head and she delighted all of the village children.

* * * *

Hala walked toward the wooden home where Alinda descended to. As she opened the door, the old woman stood wearily before her. She seemed older than she actually was and her sullen face showed only the tired and worn side of her. Her hair was long and matted with her aging greyness already showing in her dark elfin hair. And Hala even noticed a horde of lines cornering around her green eyes. Hala knew that something was wrong with her dear aunt this night...something that had been kept secret for maybe even her entire life. She only bit her lip to hide her nervousness that crept throughout her body like a spider would creep upon its web. And she waited for Alinda to speak...though, speaking may not have been the exact thing that Hala wanted. 

"Halanna...I think you should sit down."

"Why? Is--is something wrong?" Hala replied. She noticed her voice sounded strange and meek amongst her aunt's. 

"Well, no...just sit down," Alinda ordered. Hala abruptly sat down. Then Alinda began to gather together the couple's dinner. Quietly, she began to place each of the bowls in front of Hala and herself. She seemed to be taking her time...whilst trying to think of a way to explain something to her dear niece. 

  
"You see...I...I lied to you." Alinda bit her lip, staring at Hala.

"What do you mean?" Hala's mouth was hung open with fear of what her aunt was about to say.

"You see...well...you know when I told you that your parents were dead?"

"Yes." Hala's eyes were getting larger from impatience.

"They are not dead. I told you that because I was supposed to make you think that they were. It was for your own good. You see...you're parents...want to meet with you and bring you to live with them."

"They're ALIVE?" Hala pondered. She suddenly felt ill. _No...Alinda's playing one of her mind tricks with me._ She thought in her head. But something was telling her that this was _no_ mind trick.

"Yes, child, they are. Alive and Well. They want you to return to them."

"Alinda," Hala started, "you can stop with all of this! I'm not in the mood for one of your games." Now Alinda's eyes began to widen. She held her hand to her old face in fear.

"Child! I am not playing a game! You must feel quite unsure and upset...but this is not a game!" Alinda almost screamed out.

"Well...if they _DID _want me back...Why would they want me NOW?! They abandoned me and now they want me back?!"

"Hala! They never abandoned you! They only sent you away with me to deprive you of a great danger."

"What danger is there that they would have to give me up for?!"

"A danger that I cannot speak of for now. You mustn't know of it until the day of your sixteenth birthday."

"But why?!" 

Alinda stared at her for a moment.... "You will know when the time comes." 

"Alinda!" Hala cried. "Who _are_ my parents?"

"Sir. Jonathan Aconas and Lady Daliet Aconas.....They live in Aloni; east of the Helm Valley," Alinda stated.

"But...that's so far away," Hala was now in a river of tears. She couldn't believe what was happening to her. She suddenly felt lightheaded. She stood up and walked clumsily towards Alinda. When she stood in front of Alinda, she opened her mouth to speak...but no words would come from her lips.

"Oh no," Alinda muttered. "Child! You mustn't be so upset!" Alinda was now holding onto her niece's shoulders. "This mustn't...." But before Alinda finished her sentence, Hala was lying unconscious on the dark wooden floor. "Oh God," Alinda exclaimed. "This is nice timing," she muttered sarcastically. 


	2. spells

Author's note: Okay, here's chapter two. I finally got over my brief writer's block and I'm really glad for that, because it really sucks. Anyway, please read and tell me what you think. I love to hear your reviews, so please REVIEW! 

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In a matter of minutes, Alinda had already found her wand and was leaning curiously over her niece. "I guess I could use it just this once...I mean, there's no harm done...because she's unconscious and she won't remember a thing anyway." A smile crept slightly across the old woman's face. A smile that hadn't been on Alinda's face in over fifteen years.

The old woman then stood up and closed her eyes. "Let's see, now," the woman muttered. She felt uneasy and scared, because she had not used her wand in many years. All those awful years she had to work and slave like a mortal elf. And on top of that, she had to care for and love a mortal child. A mortal child that had no idea that her so-called aunt was an immortal fairy. But...Alinda did love this girl. She would give up her life for this girl...this sweet, sweet child. But her time was elapsed. This child was not hers. It was time to move on...time to go back to her land, with her own people. Alinda felt a tear fall upon her pale cheek. She was becoming more mortal everyday. If she stayed any more years, she would soon become ill like mortals did...and soon she would even die, as they did. "No," she exclaimed, "that mustn't happen." 

"Now...what kind of a spell should I put upon her?" Alinda asked herself. "There's a quieting spell--I could make her quiet so that she would not fuss over how horrid her small life is. Or maybe an Obedience spell..." And Alinda read down her memorized list of possible spells she could use upon her niece.

After a moment, Alinda's eyes sparked with agreement. "Yes! I shall give her an Acceptance spell!" she replied aloud to herself. She could almost feel her power spread throughout her body. "She'll accept anything that I tell her. She won't argue or cry or fuss....This is the perfect spell." And then Alinda lifted her wand above her sleeping niece.

* * * * * * * * * 

It was about mid-afternoon the following day and Hala's small self began to regain consciousness. As she lifted her head to peer among her surroundings, she found that she was back in her small bedroom, placed in her comfortable bed. Her head suddenly ached and her muscles became tense. She felt different...but not quite so. She found it hard to even think about. _I was going home and then Alinda began to talk to me about something. _And suddenly it came to her. She remembered everything they had talked about. She then felt her heart ache and her eyes burn; but the tears never came. Nor did her words of grieving. 

"Ahh--so you are finally deciding to awake," an old voice boomed into the room. Hala shot herself up and winced at the pain that crept up her spine. "Take it easy, Halanna. You took a fall last night and unfortunately hit your head on the table. And if you move so suddenly, you're no doubt going to have some sort of pain," Alinda explained as she walked up to Hala. Hala nodded slightly and looked away from Alinda's stern face. 

"What will be done with me?" Hala asked meekly. Her hands began to shake and she quickly hid them among her dress as so not to draw Alinda's attention. Alinda seemed not to have noticed.

"What do you mean, child?" Alinda asked. "Oh--about your parents, is it?" Hala nodded in reply. "So--are you considering about going with them?" Alinda asked.

Hala opened her mouth to object, but her chosen words would not flow from her mouth. Instead, other words came..."I would love to live with them." Hala's gasped at the words that she had said. Alinda only smiled.

"That is great, Halanna. You will go to them in Aloni. Aloni is a beautiful kingdom that every elf would dream of going to. I'm sure you will love it there," Alinda explained. Hala bit her lip, and as she did, she once again felt her heart ache from what Alinda was saying. 

"Isn't Aloni is a kingdom of humans? It's very rare to see any elves there..." 

Alinda cut in. "Well...yes. And this may not be easy to take, but...well...Hala, your father is human."

_HUMAN_! The words rung through her head. _How could that be?! I'm an elf! He couldn't be human! Why would she dare say such a thing?! _Hala cried within her mind. Her words chose different. "Oh. I see. Though, How could I possibly be an elf?" she asked, her eyes large with fear at the words she had just said. 

"Well, Hala, your father is human but he married an elf. You're only half-elf," Alinda revealed. She stared at Hala waiting for what she would say. She knew that not one normal person in the world could ever handle all the she had revealed to Hala...and all at once. But she smiled once she found no upsetting reply, and found only Hala thinking quietly in her mind.

Hala felt unrealistically calm and instead of screaming of how sudden and hard this was for her, she instead thought back to the times when she felt left out because of her height. She had only had one best friend, who didn't care about her height and liked her the way she was. The other elves were meaner and they would call her "midget" because she was shorter than the others. 

"Is that why I'm so small?" she meekly asked.

"Probably. You have your mother's ears, but your height...It's probably your father's. You also obtained your age from your father. You go by human growth. That's why your friends are hundreds of years old and you're only fifteen."

Hala nodded, for she had already had that knowledge. She never had any elf fall in love with her, they'd all say she was too young. "Are you still my aunt or did you lie about that too?" she asked, trying to rid her thoughts of how horrible the elves had been to her. Alinda looked at her strangely. 

"Of course I'm still your aunt! Don't be stupid! I don't think your parents would trust anybody else to raise you," Alinda snickered.

"I don't know why they would want to know me," Hala replied quietly. She could feel herself crying inside of her, because for some reason, she wasn't able to cry anymore.

"And why wouldn't they! You're a sweet, sweet child and I don't know of anyone who wouldn't want to. Besides, they're your parents. Your mother gave birth to you...They love you," Alinda replied as she stroked Hala's dark hair.

Hala sighed. "When do I see them?" she asked, her heart crying and her eyes unable to.

Alinda noticed how Hala was feeling, but she quickly ignored it and took it for her own advantage. "Ahh in exactly twenty five days...that is the night before your sixteenth birthday. They will be throwing you the biggest masquerade for your arrival. And since they live in Aloni, we would have to leave at least two weeks earlier. But I think it'd be better if we left the beginning of next week." A smile stretched across the old woman's wrinkled face. "Well...now you must get up and start the new day. There are lots to do. I should have told this to you earlier, but I had an awful time making up my mind how I would reveal this all to you." She turned to leave the room, but stopped short. "And child, you really must do something with that awful hair of yours. You're going to meet your new parents for God's sake. You don't want them seeing how you normally look," Alinda replied, returning to her normal, annoyed, state. 

"Fine," Hala replied as she curled back in bed. And that was where she spent the remainder of the day, with only her thoughts to comfort her, and her mind to talk to. It was only that evening that she decided to get up, because the children, her true friends, were expecting her.

******

"What's wrong, Hala? You look upset." a small elf boy asked. He was a small pale child, with golden hair and small elfin ears, and glowing blue eyes. Hala looked deeply into those eyes and found such comfort. She smiled and let out a slow sigh.

"Well, I just have many things on my mind right now. But everything will turn out all right...I can sense it," Hala explained to the children, who were now gathering around her. "Hmm...this kind of gives me an idea for a story," she whispered. "Does anyone want to listen to this story?" she asked. The children smiled and nodded their heads in excitement for their replies. "Okay then," Hala started. "Once upon a time there was a little baby girl. She was born as a half human and half elf child. But she never knew this and no one ever told her this. And on top of that, her parents sent her away from them to live with her aunt. Her aunt was an elf and she never told the girl about her parents or who the girl was. She lied to her and told the little girl that her parents were killed. And so this girl lived her life believing all of these lies that she was told. But that was until she was older and her aunt revealed this all to her. Her aunt told her that she would have to leave and go back to live with her parents in another kingdom. The girl could hardly even handle what was being told to her. And then she had to face the fact that soon she would be leaving, and she would have to leave all the people that she loved. Her heart was breaking inside because she would have to leave all her friends, and all of the people she loves the most." Hala stopped and felt herself crying inside. 

"And does the girl get a happy ending?" a small elf child asked. Hala smiled.

"I don't know," she replied. She looked around and found that every child wasn't smiling anymore. 

"But you know what, Hala? I hope the girl still realizes how much her friends love her and will always love her. We'll always miss you," a little girl explained. She ran over to Hala and threw her hands around her neck. Hala smiled, realizing that she was still loved, and will always be. 

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Now then....review time! Just press the button and tell me your thoughts.


	3. Lina

And all that night, Hala spent tossing and turning; thinking about everything she had learned. She thought about if her parents would like her and accept her as their daughter. She had spent her whole life with Alinda and she had considered her to be her mother. She didn't need her "other" parents. They would ruin her life and she would never have any fun. Aloni was so far away and she wouldn't be able to travel to the Elf Village that she had grown to love. There would be no more telling stories to all the village children and no more running through the forest with her best friend Lina. Just the thought brought tears to her eyes and she knew that in the days ahead, there would be plenty more shed.

* * * * 

"Halanna!" Alinda shook Hala's bed. "Get up. It's almost lunchtime."

Hala stretched. "Sorry. I didn't have enough sleep last night."

"Well, you've had enough now! Here...take this basket and go get me some apples from town. And you better hurry...if you want some apple pie tonight." She handed her a basket and some silver coins. "And get yourself something to eat; you missed breakfast this morning and I'm not cooking it again." The woman retrieved a long, maroon but plain dress from the closet and laid it on Hala's bed. "You'd better get up and do what I said or else you won't be eating anything today!" Alinda ordered with a sharp tongue as she waltzed out of the room.

Hala pulled herself out of bed and got dressed. She placed the coins in her side pocket and walked downstairs. She looked around to see if Alinda was near only to find herself alone in the cold, hard house. Hala studied the house carefully knowing that in a few days she would be leaving it towards her "new" home. She had never really looked at the house in the way she was now. The house was small, probably one of the smallest houses in the village. There were no pictures and the walls looked naked and bare. This was the house she had grown up in and in a few days, the house would only be a memory. A memory of a time when she had no worries and the next day to look forward to.

Hala walked outside, the sun beaming upon her figure. Her long, dark brown hair shined bright from the sun. The green from her eyes stood out with the color of her dress and for the first time since yesterday, she felt great. Hala decided not to think about the days ahead with her new home, but to focus on the days she had with the people she cared about and the home that she loved. To go along with her mood, she started to whistle. She whistled to the tune Alinda used to sing to her when she was ill or hurt inside. "Mama" was what she had called Alinda during her first few years of life. Alinda had always corrected her, telling her that she was "auntie". Hala didn't understand until she was about five. "I'm not your REAL mommy, I'm your replacement mommy. You're real mommy is up in the sky watching everything that you do; so you better be good, or else the real mommy will get mad," Alinda would tell the baby Hala. Hala smiled knowing that Alinda had always meant well even though she had lied to her about the "real" mommy thing. Alinda had used to be a very happy woman, but age brought her a mean temper and a grumpy mood. She was nasty to everyone, but they all knew that deep inside under all of that hostility was a kind hearted woman who loved everyone of them in her own way. Hala's thoughts were abruptly ended.

"Hala!" Someone jumped in front of her knocking Hala back to her senses. Hala gasped for breath. "Don't do that Lina!"

"Sorry. Where are you going?" Lina asked with a bright smile on her face. She was tall with long golden hair and lavender eyes, and a smile that hardly ever left her face. She was always like that. Even when the times were bad she always looked for the best in it.

"Um, to town." Hala meekly replied, thinking of how she would explain to Lina about her parents and having to leave for Aloni in only a matter of days. Her heart hurt to think of leaving her best friend. They had been best friends since they were small children, and she knew that no one could ever replace that.

"Really? I'm going there too. My mother insists that I go and fetch her some cabbage. It's another one of her strange cravings," Lina said. Hala nodded. Lina's mother was pregnant with her tenth child and every pregnancy, her cravings would get worse. This time it seemed like cabbage was on the menu everyday. "Do you care to race? Like the old days?" Lina suggested.

"A race? Hmm...why not!" Hala gave her friend a smile that was returned. Then the two girls began pulling their skirts up so they wouldn't become dirty.

"Okay, we'll race till we get to the woods just before town," Lina explained quickly. Hala nodded as she used her foot to make a starting line in the mud.

"On the count of three....One...two...three!"

Both girls dashed towards the woods. Their shoes were slipping from the mud, but they still ran each determined not to lose.

Hala began to catch up with Lina who was as fast as a fox because of her long legs. Lina, seeing that Hala was speeding up, ran faster, relieved because the woods were now in sight. Closer and closer they came to the woods.

Lina turned around to look at the determined Hala. "Guess I'm gonna win AGAIN!" yelled Lina.

"I think not!" Hala yelled back.

Lina wasn't paying any attention to where she was running and just as Lina turned back around, she saw a horse and carriage heading right towards her. Lina halted a dead stop right in front of the horse. Hala was right behind her and the slippery mud sent Hala smacking right into Lina sending them both into the filthy mud...ruining their dresses. The carriage stopped right before running over the girls. 

* * * * *

There was laughing coming from inside of the carriage and two men stepped out, their laughing becoming louder as they approached the mud covered girls. Hala's face turned bright red with embarrassment as she took one of the men's offered hand. The hand lifted her up and she found herself staring into the eyes of a human. It was very rare that a human would be seen around her village and she stared in astonishment.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. His dark eyes glared upon her.

"Um, no," she muttered.

"Well, it looks like your covered in mud." He smiled. Hala smiled back. The young man looked not much older than she. His short dark hair was combed back and he looked as if he were something of great importance. Hala looked over to her friend who was as surprised as she was. The other man was much older with a gray beard and a large belly. He also looked very important.

"My name is Phillip," the young man replied. "And this is my father, Marlin. Oh, and that's our driver, Marty." He pointed at each of the men.

"My name's Halanna, but everyone just calls me Hala," Hala replied. She glanced at the ground nervously.

"Yes. And my name is Arlina, but people call ME Lina." Lina smiled shaking Marlin's hand vigorously until Marlin had to pull his hand away from Lina's.

"What was such a hurry that you almost had yourselves killed?" Marlin asked.

"Well," replied Lina ignorantly, "We were having a race to see who would get to town first!" Hala gave Lina a warning look and covered her face with her hands with embarrassment.

"Really?!" replied Marlin sternly. "So you almost killed yourself because of a race?!"

"Well, I never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it...yes," Lina replied. "It's kinda a strange thing to almost get yourself killed of. If I ever were to be killed, I would want myself killed in a court duel. Don't you think that'd be splendid? Fighting in a duel with a dueler? Or maybe being hit by lightning. I always wondered what it'd be like to be hit by lightning. Having the electricity flowing through your body." 

Marlin shook his head and looked at Phillip gesturing him to get in the carriage. "Well, we have to go. We have certain events to attend to," Marlin snickered.

"Yes. We mustn't be late. It was nice meeting you two," Phillip said as he climbed into the carriage.

"It was nice meeting you too," Hala replied, smiling at Phillip. He returned the smile and the carriage drove off leaving the two girls in a quarrel. 

~~~~~~~

"Why did you tell them that?!" Hala demanded.

"Tell them what?" Lina replied unaware of what she had previously said.

"About us racing about like a couple of wild animals!"

"Sorry. I didn't know it was wrong to tell the truth," Lina remarked. Hala's face became redder from anger.

Hala opened her mouth to scream at her friend, but the spell chose otherwise, and other words left Hala's lips. "It's alright. I understand. But remember not to ever do something like that again," she replied. Lina looked at her strangely.

"Okay. But, why did you care about what they thought? We don't even know them. They're just a bunch of stuck up humans," Lina explained. 

"I'm sorry," Hala muttered. "I don't know why I cared. I've just been feeling odd these past few days."

Lina nodded. "It's Okay," she said. Hala looked back to where the carriage had gone only to see the road empty of any travelers. It was odd that there wasn't anyone on the road, for usually it was full of merchants and traveling elves. The forest was also very quiet and not a single sound was heard. There were no birds singing or butterflies soaring through the trees.

"Lina?" Hala summoned.

"Yes?"

"Isn't it a little bit odd?"

"What odd?" Lina asked.

"The Forest. It's too quiet."

Lina looked around. "Yes, I see what you mean."

Hala nodded. "We should go," She replied interrupting the silence.

"Okay."

Hala turned towards town, the markets and shops now in view. Lina followed unwillingly, not looking forward to walking in town full of mud.


End file.
